Wednesday, November 29, 2006

I dreamt that Bele was still alive. Someone had found him outside and brought him to me. Adam and I were visiting someone with the pigs and I wanted to clean the cage before I put Bele back in so that he wouldn't catch whatever had killed him before. We were looking for garbage bags and (for some reason) rubber maid containers. When I put Bele back in the cage, Lokai was happy to see him. I think they were actually having sex at some point (yes, I know, but this is as X-rated as my dreams get).

As I mentioned, we were visiting someone. There were lots of people, a party I guess. The pigs' cage was on the floor and some woman was walking her dog around the living room. It was a big dog, like a bull terrier. When the dog got near the cage he swallowed Bele whole!

The woman said she was sorry and reached her arm down her dog's throat in an attempt to retrieve Bele. We thought that the dog might have thrown up Bele into the garbage chute, so everyone at the party was searching through a basement full of garbage looking for him. There was a little girl there who wanted to leave. I gather she had somewhere to be and her Mom was making her stay to look for Bele. She kept saying "I want to go to _____ now." (The blank of course referring to wherever she needed to be, but I don't remember where that was.) I kept saying to everyone "You have to find him, he's my miracle pig."

I think someone did find Bele, but he wasn't as whole as we at first thought.

Sunday, November 19, 2006

Even though I'm not that big for a woman entering her third trimester, I feel like a snowman with legs. You know, three big snow balls on top of each other: belly, boobs, head. The problem is the boobs. I have a smallish preggers belly with humongous breasts. GAH! My back is also protesting the change in my body. I bought myself a super expensive back massage chair with my birthday money, and I also got one of those pregnant belly cozies. All these things help, but don't cure what ails me.

On Wednesday, Adam and I took a tour of the hospital where my son will be born. It kind of freaked me out. Phrases like "labouring" and "pain management" were tossed around frequently. Of course I checked out the other pregnant women's breasts. They were just as small as ever! Honestly I bet they still wear a C-cup, so their belly looks larger and rounder, which makes them look all glowing and pregnant, instead of like a frumpy snowwoman. It is so unfair. Oh well. I bet all those women have hideous stretchmarks. And hemorrhoids.

Anyway, I'm sure it will all be worth it. I mean, look how cute this kid is:

Now I'm off to Becca and Drew's baby shower! (Their unborn son is cute too)

Monday, November 13, 2006

I know you are all anxious to find out what I did for my birthday on Friday. Here's the lowdown:

Friday November 10th (my birthday)

After work my husband and I went to my Mommy and Daddy's house. Mom made a super delicious, and highly labour intensive, meal of rouladen and spaetchle (with cream spinach!) It was a wonder to behold (and to eat, of course). Afterwards we had chocolate cake and ice cream.

Prezzies:-Tickets to the musical "Wicked" (from Mom and Dad)-DVD of season one of "The Tick" (cartoon) and "Wonder Woman Season II" (from my brother, Craig).

Next we watched a couple Tick episodes with my nephew, Hunter). Then we hung out until it was late enough to head to Karaoke night at the bar down the street. Craig, Rob (my sister), and my Adam all came and we sang and sang. Well, Adam didn't sing, but the rest of us were all up in there. Don't worry, I only drank ice tea and water.

Saturday November 11th (Rememberance Day/ 3D ultrasound day)

Adam's prezzie to me was a 3D ultrasound so I've been keeping myself all hydrated. Me, My Adam, Mom and Dad, Robin, Hunter, Craig, my mother-in-law Eva, my father-in-law Chris, my sister-in-law Julie, my best friend Eireann, and my best friend Becca and Drew, all crowded into the Ultrasound room to see my bare belly. If you were to compare Saturday's pics of my unborn son, to the one taken at the baby show demo (I'll post some pics soon so you can do that), you might think it was a completely different baby. His face has filled out a lot more and he actually looks even cuter! The ultrasound tech was cooing about how accomodating my baby was. He showed us both ears! What a good baby. We also got yet another confirmation that yes, he is a boy along with a clear snapshot of his, um, bits (to show future girlfriends).

Afterwards my Mom served everyone lunch, which was basically a late Thanksgiving, or early Christmas dinner. We had turkey and yorkshire pudding and stuffing and all kinds of yumminess. My Mom's a fabulous cook. Later the whole gang (minus the inlaws) went to see my nephew's choice of movie: Flushed Away. It was good, great slug bits, but I liked the movie with my son in it better.

Prezzies:

The ultrasound (from Adam)A highly useful weird alien robot thing that sings different beats and can plug into a radio or mp3 player (from Becca and Drew)

According to Adam, I have another present on the way in the mail. He wouldn't tell me what it is, but assures me I'll like it.

Friday, November 10, 2006

Today is my 27th birthday and I'm 27 weeks pregnant. It's almost as if that were planned (it wasn't). 27 is actually quite a milestone (for baby, not for me) because this is the time when his lungs develop. That means that if something were to happen and I had to deliver right now, my son would have a good chance of surviving outside the womb. Apparently, being able to breathe is the secret to making it in this world.

Not that he's expected any time soon. Not until at least February 5th (my due date), and judging by the tardy, womb-loving kids in my family, likely not for a week or so after that.

Because I really can't wait that long to see him, tommorrow morning baby and I will be enjoying one of my b-day presents: a 3D ultrasound! (By 3D, I of course mean you can actually tell it's a baby and not, put on goofy red and blue glasses and it looks like the kid is floating in front of your face). I'm supposed to be well hydrated so that my ambiotic fluid isn't all murky, so today I'm drinking lots and peeing lots.

Some people don't like birthdays but I love 'em. I've feeling kind of hormonal today (my zits are back) and so I'm extra looking forward to an evening of cake and prezzies and all-about-me.

Tuesday, November 07, 2006

So last night Adam and I went to the Welcome Wagon "Baby Shower" which is actually identical to the Welcome Wagon "Bridal Shower" that I attended last year. There are only about 10 booths to advertising their wares, and many of those aren't even baby related. That's right, Mary Kay, I'm talking about you.

So we sat through this rather hillarious maternity clothing fashion show. The models were obviously not pregnant, and compensated for their lack of bulge by wearing somewhat square pillows. The host of the show was a guy with a suit and a fake laugh whose jokes about being pregnant would've gone over a heck of a lot better had he been a woman. There was also some woman who talked for a few minutes about a parenting humour book she had written.

Smattered throughout the farce, the suit with the fake laugh would give out door prizes. Normally I don't win anything, not even free scratch tickets, but last year at the "Bridal Shower" I won a pair of earrings so I was optomistic. The odds are actually pretty good. There are about a dozen prizes for a hundred fifty people (half of whom are not preggers, and therefore not eligible). The suit had given away all the prizes and felt that downer feeling you get from not winning when you thought you might. Then, suddenly, the suit realized he had one more prize to give away. A fifty-dollar gift certificate for maternity clothes. And guess whose name they called? Mine! (Or rather a reasonable facsimile of my name, because nobody can prenounce Filipowicz correctly on the first try).

Sunday, November 05, 2006

This is one of those get-to-know-your-friends forwards that we all spend our lives filling out for no reason. My friend Becky sent me this one. Being that it's Sunday, the day of nothing better to do. I'm filling it out. So there!

1. What time did you get up this morning? 8:30ish, maybe 9?

2. Diamonds or pearls? Diamonds. I don't wear a lot of jewelery 'cept my wedding and engagement ring, and who ever heard of a pearl engagement ring?

3. What was the last film you saw at the movies? Man of the Year. The one where Robin Williams is a comedian who runs for president. It was okay.

4. What is your favourite TV show? Always has been and forever will be Star Trek: the Next Generation.

5. What do you have for breakfast? Today? I had cream of wheat. Normally I'm a cereal girl ("I said I'd taste it, I'd give it a whirl, and now I am a cereal girl!")

6. What is your middle name(S)? Meghan. I was also going to keep my maiden name as a middle name. It's not official, but in my heart of hearts my other middle name is McNicoll.

7. What is your favourite cuisine? I like food.

8. What foods do you dislike? Brocolli, cabbage, any other foods that smell like fart.

9. What is your favourite crisp flavour? Crisp? What are we British now? I like pringles, or Miss Vickie's Sea Salt and Malt Vinegar.

10. What is your favourite CD at the moment? Maybe Caroline Whiles' new CD, I dunno.

11. What type of car do you drive? A 1999 silver Subaru Forester. Oh, who am I kidding, Adam drives it, I just listen to the radio.

12. What characteristics do you despise? Um, warts?

13. Favourite item of clothing? I like my flannel PJs and any pants that still fit me.

14. If you could go anywhere in the world on vacation? To Europe! (see previous post).

15. Favourite brand of clothing? Dunno. Whatever's the cheapest and the most colourful.

16. Where would you like to retire to? My mansion on Lakeshore Rd, of course. (see previous post).

17. Favourite time of the day? This is a tough one. All times of day are pretty well the same when you're inside in front of a computer. I guess any time where Adam and I are both not at work, and we can hang out together. Oh I know! That time just before bed where the baby's kicking and Adam's lying beside me with his hand on my preggers belly.

18. What was your most memorable birthday? One birthday Adam got my book published (print run of one). That was cool. I can't really say it was memorable though because I don't remember which birthday it was.

19. Where were you born? Montreal

20. Favourite sport to watch? ZzzzzzzzzZZzzzzzz! Huh? What was the question? Someone said the word "sport" and it put me right to sleep.

21. Who do you least expect to send this back to you? Since, I'm not sending it to anyone, I doubt anyone will send it back.

22. Who do you expect to send it back first? See previous answer.

23. What fabric detergent do you use? Tide.

24. Coke or Pepsi? I don't like either. They're all fizzy and taste like sugar water.

25. Are you a morning person or a night owl? I'm a daytime kinda gal.

26. What is your shoe size? 8 1/2 or 9

27. Do you have any pets? Lokai the guinea pig. Which reminds me, it's time to clean his cage.

28. What did you want to be when you were little? An artist, a stewardess, or a bus driver.

29. When is your birthday? November 10th. Not much time left to plan that surprise party!

**********FAVOURITES****************Shampoo? Honestly, who has a favourite shampoo?

Soap? The kind that cleans.

Summer/Winter? Depends on the weather. I do like the snow.

Favourite Advertisement? That Vanilla Miniwheats commercial is pretty catchy. You know, the one where Mr. Miniwheat sings about faling in love with vanilla flavour.

Book? I like my mommy's books. Her new one, Beauty Returns, is especially excellent.

****RIGHT NOW*****************

Wearing? My flannel PJs. Hey, it's only 10:30!

Eating? Nothing at the moment. I'm thinking about having an apple.

Drinking? Can't drink. I'm pregnant.

Thinking about? Babies.

Listening to? Barenaked Ladies, off my husband's iTunes.

**********THE LAST 24 HOURS**************Cried? I'm not sure, maybe, could have been 25 hours ago.

Met someone new? Noone memorable.

Cleaned your room? Ha! That's a good one.

Drove a car? Nope.

How many hours sleep? Probably 8, but who knows?

*************DO YOU BELIEVE IN* *************

God? No.

Yourself? I believe in myself, it's those other turkeys that are holding me back.

Santa Claus? I consider myself a Santa Claus agnostic.

Destiny/Fate? Not really.

Ghosts? Oh come on now.

**********FRIENDS AND LIFE**********

Who have you known the longest of your friends? Probably Becca and Drew. I don't remember who else was in my kindergarten class and who I didn't meet until grade one.

Who do you go to for advice? Depends on what I need advice on. If I need to learn to cook something, there's Mom. If I have computer trouble, there's Adam. Becca's pretty good for general advice. And there's always my good friend the internet.

When do you cry the most? When the preggers hormones kick in.

Okay, that's it. I should probably warn you that if you don't fill this out for yourself and send it to all your aquaintances, you'll be attacked by some kind of rabid snake or have your tongue cut out or something.

Saturday, November 04, 2006

I was browsing my husband's blog (which hardly gets updated). His post of September 23rd was all about what he would buy if he were super rich. It basically listed a bunch of boy toys: cars, motorcycles, computers, and camera stuff (though if he re-did the list now I'm sure he would include a Bugaboo stroller). In response to his post, I decided to make my own list. Hey, my birthday is coming up after all (Friday, November 10th, I reach the ripe old age of 27).

I'll have one of the rooms in my mansion done up to look like the Enterprise D bridge. Of course the view screen will actually be a widescreen TV. I'll also put all my Star Trek DVD's into a massive DVD changer so I can access any episode on demand from that little remote in the Captain's chair.

A porsche 911 convertible. A red one. I did a project on porsches in high school German class. Hitler had a 911. I'm surprised porsche doesn't use that fact much in their advertising. I spent a bunch of time on www.porsche.com customizing my car. Red leather interior, the works. The car starts at 136, 000. Mine ended up at 215, 855.

A smart roadster. This car is only available in the UK, but I'm sure I could fly one over. The problem with my car choices is that these are all two-seaters, with no room for baby! So I'll also need a nice family car, for driving baby around and long trips.

This is a porsche Cayenne. Don't know much about it, but porshe is a brand I trust. And look, it has room for baby in the back. Hey! Somebody stole my hubcaps!

Enough with the cars (the garage in my mansion isn't big enough!) Vacation time!I want not one, but several European vacations. This castle is in Germany, but I'll of course want to see every country. I have to visit every museum mentioned in my art history classes, see the Sistine chapel, attend real German Octoberfest, get my picture taken leaning against the leaning tower of Pisa, ride in one of those Venice gondolas, climb the Eiffel Tower (again), and stop for periogies at Adam's Babcia's house.

With all the leftover money I have (and they'll be lots), I get my son a really great university education (or college, whatever he's into). Maybe he can get a few degrees. You can never have too many.

Wednesday, November 01, 2006

This morning I had another prenatal appointment where they took my blood. This time they made me drink a bottle of orange pop (special prescription orange pop of course) and then wait an hour. The vampires wanted the blood to have a little flavouring I guess. This is the test that is supposed to tell if I've turned into a diabetic.

Anyhoo. Tonight we went to our first prenatal class (we being me, my husband, Adam, and my unborn son). The teacher was this nurse who looks about thirty but says she has a twenty-year-old daughter. She talked a bit about nutrition and exercise and other pregnancy stuff. Like any first class, we just glossed over a little of everything and didn't really learn anything new. Some highlights:

At one point, the guys left the room and the women were asked to make a list of all the changes we noticed during the pregnancy (the guys made their own list). The woman who was jotting stuff down kept censoring what I said. For example, I'd say "my boobs are humongous!" and she's write "fuller breasts", and I'd say "I'm getting stupid" and she'd write "forgetfulness." This was kind of fun. Of course, being that we all had Mom Brain, we forgot about all the positive pregnancy stuff, like baby kicks, and not having a period. I cannot stress enough how much I love not having my period.

Near the end the teacher walked us through a relaxation exercise so that we'll have something to take our mind off the pain when we're in labour (she said this was necessary even if we plan to have an epidural because you don't always get juiced up right away). I got sort of lost when she asked us to visualize stuff, running through a meadow, etc. I pretty much gave up when she told us to picture a box and put our concerns in it. I'm sitting there thinking: "Okay I got the box open now how do I put my concerns in it? What does a concern look like? How do I visualize it? Have I pictured a big enough box?" and by this time the rest of the class is down the garden path, playing in a stream or something. So I just kept breathing in and out, which I admit is pretty relaxing, though by the end I was getting bored. Can we get out of this meadow and get on with the class, thought I. Adam thinks this is due to an undiagnosed attention deficit disorder and that only I would get bored of relaxation.